Chapter 29: Visit

'Inner thoughts'

Writing/sounds


Yukino's POV

Being helped by this mysterious stranger he guided me from the beach towards his town. As we were walking, I noticed the sand that stuck to me along with the many scratches on my skin. But that wasn't important, looking down and around me, I saw how the sand was white in coloring. 'Where am I?' I asked myself thinking of all the shores I've seen but none matched this one. Then again I haven't been to many beaches.

As I was thinking of this I tripped over a hard stone. Looking at my foot I saw the scratch it left. Healing it I looked at the stone I tripped on to see what looked like a piece of rubble. Wiping the sand around it to see it better the guy that was guiding me stopped. "Hey! Are you okay?" He asked a couple of steps ahead.

Looking at the stone I stood up and walked towards him. 'Might just be an unfinished project or something.' I sighed catching up with him with much more effort than expected.

"Nami!" Someone yelled looking around there was a man similar to him walking in our direction. "Where have you been? You know I need to-" He cut himself off as he saw a person he never saw before, me. "Who is that?" He asked confused.

"I found her by the shore." The one who I assume to be Nami said.

"Hello." I bowed slightly. "I'm Yukino."

"So the tide brought in someone else." He mumbled as if that was a daily occurrence.

"Someone else?" I asked.

"Yes, the tides tend to wash up people who are escaping or looking for a new beginning… at least that's what everyone else believes." He explained placing a hand on his hip. "So what were you doing at sea before you fell in?" He asked so casually like someone would say, what brings you here?

"I was going to visit an island," I said being vague.

Narrowing his eye by a milimeter he asked, "Where are you from?"

"Uh… Konoha," I said hesitantly when he reached for my head and rubbed my hair with two fingers.

"Are you from any clan?" He asked with a tired look as if there was something else he needed to do.

"Uh…" I hesitated unsure of whether or not I should really answer. "Where am I?" I asked stepping back.

"Uzushiogakure. At least that is how it was called." He answered waving his hand in the air. "Nami, take her to the village I have to prepare to meet with the others." He said walking past us and going to the beach.

"Don't worry about him, Kaito-san only acts stiff but he's nice. Today is just not a regular day that's all," Nami said guiding me towards the village ahead of us.


'Uzushio… So I'm here.' I thought to myself while scanning everything I could. The buildings were small like that of a fishing village and the people consisted of a few members of what I could assume to be of the Hoshigaki clan, and of random people I couldn't place to any specific clan. From where I stood that made the population of forty or so. The fact that there were people here made me more energetic hoping that somewhere on this island the people I was looking for were still alive. "Hey!" The young man called from ahead as I had begun to fall behind.

"Huh?" I asked in a moment of confusion before running to his side. "I have a question. Is there by any chance a shrine that has been here from the last people who lived here?" I asked getting to the point.

"Yes, but first we have to wait for Kaito-san to return." He said opening the door to a house. "In you go."


Stepping into the room the door closed lightly behind me. The room was furnished so it couldn't be a cell, seeing the table I grabbed a chair and sat on it. Staring at the ceiling I waited for a couple of minutes when my eyes began to slowly close. "Do you want water?"

Jolting awake I turned my head towards the doorway to another room seeing a woman with long black braided hair reaching her back standing by the doorway holding a ceramic jar.

Touching my throat I nodded "Please," Being given a cup I gulped everything down and saw the woman grab a chair and drag it to be next to me.

"My name is Shimizu. Don't bother with honorifics." She said staring into the depths of my eyes. "I'm sure you met my brother already." She took out a knife and began polishing it.

"Kaito-san?" I guessed feeling myself shrink the moment her eyes returned their focus on me.

"No, Nami." She corrected bringing me some relief. "I was going to question you since Kaito had to attend to something but just now I overheard you talking about a shrine." She said looking down at her knife following her gaze I saw her eyes staring at me through the reflection. "What is your purpose for coming here? Because I know you didn't come here by accident."

Staring at her reflection I nodded. 'Who is this woman?' I asked myself deciding to tell her a small portion of the truth, "Uh… I came here to find out more about my clan. That's all." I told her as her eyes criticized every single movement she did.

"Shimizu, there's no need to question her further," Kaito said as he stood by the door which made me jump as I realized that the woman had purposefully drawn my attention away from him. "However I do have one question." He added making sure his body covered the entirety of the doorway. "Do you have any experience as a shinobi?"

'A question of trust…' I realized. "Yes, I do," I confessed. 'Just who are they?' I asked myself seeing their posture and confidence.

Both of them looked at each other and kept staring as if they were having a silent argument together. With Shimizu's shoulders dropping slightly she nodded closing her eyes. "Nami will guide you to the shrine tomorrow morning," Kaito said.

"You can stay with us for the night," Shimizu said standing up. "But you first need to wash that sand off you."


Next Day

By morning Nami led me to the forest saying that he would take me to the shrine. Seeing rocks I hopped over them to not trip when I noticed that my guide had disappeared. "Nami-san?" I called out until I heard a groan. Walking towards the sound I saw a hole in the ground being partially covered by roots and vines. Peeking inside I saw him stuck in the crevice, "Are you okay?" I yelled.

"Yes…" He said standing up, trying to pull himself out but unable to. "Can you help?"

"Sure." Grabbing a couple of vines I tied them together and hung it over the side. Pulling him out I stuck my head in the opening and activated my eyes to see how wide the crevice was. From side to side the crevice stretched far enough for me to not see where it ended and it was wide enough for one to fall in even if they jumped with a running start. Deactivating them I pulled my head out and told him about what I saw.

"We should go around then…" He said but shook his head. "That would take too long," Sighing he looked up at the trees. "You can jump up there right?"

"Yes, and you?"

"No, I was never really trained for it, but nee-san has." He sighed. 'So his sister has experience as a shinobi? If that's the case then that wouldn't make sense.' Collecting water I stood on it and extended my hand. "Thanks…" He said hopping on the floating platform I made. Hovering to the other side we both hopped off, using that same water I used it to slice the vines hiding the crevice to reveal signs of a bridge once being there along with the skeletons of a few unlucky animals to have fallen in. "We must be near," Nami-san shivered looking down.

・・・

Walking for about an hour we passed by a couple of boars, deers and a fox and anything else that preferred to avoid us. Stopping for a rest Nami left to look for a stream alone. Wanting to warn him I stopped and just sat against a tree thinking that he would be fine. 'Nothing has really attacked us so it should be fine.' I sighed crossing my arms. 'Should I really be here? I feel that I just uncovered something that I didn't expect.' I questioned myself when I noticed odd rectangular stones covered in dirt. Going to it I wiped the dirt away to see it forming patterns. As I kept brushing away for dirt I saw how it extended further. "What is it?" I heard Nami say as he came back holding his filled container.

"It couldn't be…" I whispered following the stones not realizing I had begun to run. Past the trees and small streams, I stopped once again as I reached the top of a hill. Looking from above it, I covered my mouth as my guess was true.

"What is it?" Nami repeated catching up to me out of breath.

Looking at the valley I made a mental image using the small gaps between the trees, "It's a huge sealing circle." I stated as I could see the top of a shrine to the side of the seal. Without waiting for Nami to ask more about it I ran towards the shrine hoping that it would have an archive like the others. 'The answers I need have to be there!'

Sliding to a stop at the bottom of the steps my heart raced as I couldn't contain my excitement. Going up one step at a time led to me going up two steps until I reached the top breathless, lifting my head with a smile I saw the shrine in a better state than the ones I've seen. Falling to my knees I began to cough struggling to normalize my breathing. The sudden coolness at the base of my neck brought some relief before I realized it was from a blade.

"Who are you?" A woman's voice asked, glancing to the side I saw the brown-haired young woman in a Miko uniform holding a naginata to my neck.

"WAIT!" A breathless yell could be heard from halfway down the steps as Nami managed to catch up. "Wait," Huffs could be heard as he reached the top trying to calm down the armed woman. "She's… She's from your clan." He finished before falling to the ground trying to catch his breath.

Hearing this the woman lowered her weapon while I just stared in confusion at Nami. 'She what?!' I asked myself in disbelief. 'This is something he should've mentioned before we arrived,'

"Oh, really! Sorry. My name's Kichi." She laughed clinging onto her naginata. "The duty of a priestess comes first," Kichi said extending her hand.

"Uh… by clan does he mean Uzumaki?" I asked taking her hand.

"Yes," she smiled. "I need to inform Nori-kun about this." She ran off towards the side of the shrine without waiting.

Turning to Nami-san who had regained his breath I asked, "When Kaito-san touched my hair," I pointed to the red streak on my bangs. "What was it for?"

"Oh its because they set up a request to send them any person we find with red hair." He informed pointing to the shrine. "It's the least we could do after they helped us." He took in a deep breath trying to calm down his rapidly beating heart. "So far you're the only one we've seen."

"Oh…" I said, 'So the chance is still really low.' Walking up to the shrine I peeked inside. "Tsukiyomi…" I whispered. 'Didn't she make me because everyone else was gone?' I asked myself. "Tsukiyomi…"

"Look there she is!" I heard the priestess's voice say making me jump. Turning immediately I saw a man around his early twenties by her side.

His short dark hair contrasted with his sharp purple eyes as looked my way. "Yes, you are right I can sense it in her chakra…" the man trailed off as his eyebrows furrowed slightly. "But… she seems to have some mixed heritage… some I can't identify." He said rubbing his eyes.

"That doesn't matter, she is still one of us." The priestess said.

"Wait how can you tell?" I asked curious about this.

"Members of a clan have similarities in their chakra knowing those similarities can help us identify where you fit in." The man said before turning his attention to Nami. "Thank you for bringing her here. The woods get darker quicker so you can stay the night with us."

"Thank you." Nami accepted with a smile.


3rd POV

The two that they met collected their stuff and waved goodbye to the other four at the shrine that hid from sight. Down the side of the hill where the shrine stood and around the back. There lay a small settlement away from the shrine to keep its natural surroundings. However, it was placed not too far away so it could no longer be seen.

The walk down the trail to the settlement was short. With every step, Yukino looked around with a sparkle in eyes as she held her tongue not wanting to scare off the people that held answers. However, the moment she saw the settlement her sparkle disappeared as she saw the small population of about twenty. Scanning her eyes over the population she saw no one that looked older than their thirties or forties, anyone that could be old enough to remember life at the island before the attack. "How old is the oldest person here?" She asked hoping that she just missed them.

Kichi turned around and pointed ahead to the guy. "Believe it or not but Nori-kun is 32." She whispered. Both Nami and Yukino looked around her and eyed the man in disbelief. 'He doesn't look 32.' They both thought with doubt.

"He looks younger than that," Nami said to the priestess that was waiting for one of them to say it.

Smugly Kichi put a hand under her chin. "Fufufu. It's a plus of our genes." She said with a whip of her hair. "I'm 29 myself." She said with such pride that it was believable. 'I thought women lied about that kind of stuff.' Yukino thought deciding to keep it to herself. 'It seems I was wrong.' She nodded to herself.

Ahead of the group some of the people had noticed the two guests and some of the more nosiest ones asked Nori about it. "We have a new member," Nori informed them before lowering his voice. "Have the other's arrived?" He asked.

"Yes, they're waiting." Someone motioned to the horses grazing behind them. Turning back to the group he waved to catch Kichi's attention before heading into one of the houses where the meeting would take place.

"Well, it seems I'm now in charge," Kichi said noticing the curious glances of the people. Grabbing both of them by the arms she pulled them as she led them around introducing them to the others.

・・・

Stopping at the last area which was a small clearing with stones for sitting. The small trio laughed as Kichi told jokes she heard. To the side, in a building, Nori walked out with Kaito, an older looking man with dark eyes and hair, and a woman with black hair. Hearing the laughter they turned their heads to see what it was. "She's the one isn't she." The woman said pressing her lips into a line. "What a conundrum." She sighed crossing her arms.

"I wasn't sure at first but now I am," Nori said looking at the new arrival.

"You said she was mixed right?" Kaito spoke up grabbing their attention. "Depending on which traits she shows she should go to that specific clan. But for now, she should stay here. It would be troublesome to travel to the mountains now."

"You have a point." The lady said grabbing her horse. "I will wait patiently in my village when you guys come for the report. Until next month." She hopped on her horse before galloping away towards her village in the mountains.

"The young nowadays can be quite energetic." The older man sighed going to a horse. "I will return ahead of you Kaito-san to make sure they haven't destroyed anything." He sighed hoping on his horse.

"Are you having problems with your side?" Nori asked looking at the older man with worry.

"My village is fine, but the people are restless. They remember their lives before the island and want to have festivals but with the lack of people to protect them is an issue and it can't be done." He sighed rubbing his head. "Anyways I will deal with it somehow. Make sure you take care of my people and train them well." The old man looked in the direction of the shrine before turning his horse and going to his village located on the west south side of the island.

Watching him leave both men turned to each other. "It seems that's that," Kaito said grabbing his own horse. "I'll come for Nami tomorrow, later." He said heading west north.


With the sun setting behind the horizon everyone returned to their homes. The lantern lighter walked around lighting the stone lanterns around the small settlement humming a tune that scared the children back into the homes. Nori and Kichi sat by the side of the village watching the shadows for anything dangerous. "Did you guide her to the guest house?" Nori asked.

"I thought you did?" Both of them looked at each other and stood up looking around not seeing the new arrival. Looking at each other they nodded and split up each taking their weapon. Not wanting to alert anyone they walked in the shadows before running the moment they were out of sight. Kichi headed to the shrines while he looked around the surrounding area. There were two possible things that could have happened. A) she came here to steal information for her nation or B) they both got lost and would be eaten by wild animals. Either situation would be bad news that they would want to avoid.

Thump! Turning his head immediately he saw the young man from the Hoshigaki clan trying to place something he bumped into. "Ah! I'm sorry." He said seeing the man.

"It's fine. Where is the girl?"

"Oh? She mentioned wanting to see the sky clearly."

"Thank you." Nori turned before remembering something. "It's late, make sure to go to the guest house. It's the one with an acorn painted on it." He told him before running into the surrounding woods.

"78…79…80…" The quiet mumblings caught his attention as he quietly followed it. Sitting in a clearing he saw the girl that he was looking for as she carefully folded small stars that she dumped into a jar that lay open next to her.

'So there was no need to worry,' He sighed deciding to head back but stopping. Walking up to her he tapped the ground next to her with his weapon. "You shouldn't wander off, this area has bears." He said seeing how she took her jar and closed it.

"Okay." She nodded looking up at the starry sky above. "Is the sky always like this?" She asked.

Thinking of her question he shook his head. "…I think so. I never paid much attention to it." He spoke interested in where this was going.

She remained silent as she looked over the sky as if deciding on what to say before nodding, "The night sky here is definitely prettier than that of any nation I've been to…" Standing up she tapped her jar. "I was told many times of where my ancestors came from and actually seeing it made me happy." She turned with a smile.

"You mentioned other nations do you think you can tell me about them?" He asked as he guided her back to the safety that was the village before they could run into any trouble.

・・・

Being brought into the guest house she was placed in one of the empty rooms. Yukino closed her eyes realizing how the buildings were basic one-floor houses. Sitting up she saw how the furniture was simple and made of wood, thinking back to the village she was in before she remembered how the plates or cups were made of clay. The state in which these people lived was simple. Which made sense. 'If no ships can pass here then they need to make their own food and make their own stuff.' From the craftsmanship of the furniture, she guessed that there was a lack of skilled carpenters around. 'I wonder how it looked before its destruction.' With this thought in mind, she lay on the hard floor and went to sleep.


By morning Kichi waited around Nori's house. The moment he opened his door and was about to exit Kichi pushed Nori back into his house, shutting the door behind them. "People speak on this island." Nori groaned reminding the young woman as he was pushed to his room.

"Kamisama has given us news for the first time in years." She whispered telling him of the news she heard from those at the shrine.

"What was it?" Nori asked interested, sitting on the tatami floor.

"Kamisama has delivered a gift to our shores one that's full of surprises." She said sitting across from him and placing her weapon down.

"Why don't they send us something helpful instead." He sighed.

"That's the thing. Kamisama said the gift will help guide us to a brighter future." She said going silent as someone passed by. "The others and I agree that it might be the newcomer."

"Kichi you can't be serious. She's like what 10?" He asked not believing it.

"12 almost 13." She corrected. "I know it may be hard to believe but what else came here to these shores aside from debris?" She asked wanting him to consider. "Let's just keep an eye out for anything weird." She asked before standing up.

・・・

The next day Yukino was dragged to the shrine by Nori and Kichi to help. Not even a minute passed when she remembered the conversation she had with Nori that night. "So!" She prepared herself to spill details to someone else other than her family, "Sunagakure has something called sand dumplings they are delicious…" she started before going into detail into various other things.

At first, Nori tried to focus on sharpening the other's naginata before he was drawn into the conversation. "That sounds nice," Nori said as he handed her a broom to help clear up the leaves. "Speaking of Suna I remember jiji telling me the story of a city called Rōran. Have you heard of it?" He asked. Shaking her head he smiled and started recounting the story he remembered but as he did the others at the shrine took interest and stopped their duties or training to listen. Each of them seeing the city he described in vivid detail.

"Woah… I never heard of it." Yukino whispered to herself once he finished. "A city rising within days… how amazing would that be."

・・・

"Hey! I told you not to wander off its dangerous." Nori yelled when he caught up to the girl.

"I needed to check something," she mumbled as she wiped off the dirt on the stone patterns on the ground. "What do you think could be sealed here?" She asked while drawing down the pattern on a piece of paper.

Looking at the ground he tapped the ground. "I don't know." He sighed. "All I know is that jiji came here for this. He never said what it was though." He mumbled before remembering what he came to do. "Now stop wandering around and help out."

・・・

Helping make medicine with the other priestesses she stood up to get more ingredients. Seeing that the drawer for a specific plant was missing she told them she was going to look for it. "Hey! Yukino can you come here for a moment." Nori yelled waving her over from the shrine entrance.

"What is it?" She asked running over.

"There was something I wanted to ask you." He started but stopped wondering how he should put it. "Can I check your chakra for a moment?" He asked.

With a nod from her, he went around her and placed a hand firmly on her back. She stood there awkwardly for a moment before she felt him infusing some of his chakra into her. "Weird your chakra reserves are abnormally large."

"Really? Isn't that normal." She asked while standing there looking at the statue of a woman in the shrine.

"In your case no." He said taking his hand off her back and staring at it with a frown. "Aren't their doctors in Konoha that could've told you this?"

"..."

"Hey," He said facing her and squatting slightly to look her in the eyes.

"I might have skipped out on going to a few of my appointments…" She avoided his eyes, "So I guess that's how I never found out?"

"Seriously." He sighed shaking his head, "Well, from what I could tell at least is that your chakra reserve is filling up a space that might've been once empty." He said realizing something else. "But for that to happen there would have had to be something there in the first place…" He mumbled to himself. "Anyways, it seems to be at full capacity."

"Is it really bad?"

"Too much of anything is bad." He said, "You will either have to empty that reserve or you will have to create a new one to redirect the extra chakra." He said thinking of something. "Think of it as a dam. You being young have a delicate dam that let's water through from time to time when the main storage starts running dry." he poked where her heart would be. "But it seems that the rains don't know when to stop and so your dam is being overflooded and craking as it tries to hold everything in. So your body is working to reinforce the dam to prevent it from cracking but at the same time that you use your main storage it is working on keeping you rested." He put both of his hands in front of him like a balance. "Should your body help you rest or should it work on adapting? Both things are happening and your body begins to struggle."

"Wait but wouldn't that also be the case for young children?" She asked getting the metaphor but not why it's happening to her.

"It's rare but this has actually happened before. I forgot the actual name of the disease though," he stood up straight seeing Kichi. "Hey, Kichi! Gather information about that disease we read about." He told her as she nodded not knowing which one he was talking about but deciding to get it anyways. Turning to her he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Listen, for now, let's work on creating another reserve." Letting go he walked out of the shrine and into the warmth of the sun.

"So that's why it's happening…" Seeing him walk away she looked at the reflective surface of a katana placed on a stand. It was barely visible but the bags under her eyes were there. Rubbing her eyes she now knew why she kept becoming tired more frequently. 'My body is trying to adjust.' She placed a hand on her chest. 'How troublesome.' She thought before remembering about the herbs she was supposed to get.

・・・

Learning the basic idea on how to create a reserve a week passed but she had yet to create one. Standing at the top of the shrine steps she looked down in thought. "Yukino-chan, the others said that you could go to the village and help out there," Kichi said as she came with the news.

"Kichi-san, I'll be leaving. Thank you for letting me stay, when I return, I'll make sure to bring some souvenirs." She said turning to face her.

The other instead of being shocked, laughed, "Don't be silly. There is no way you could leave this island. The whirlpools would drag you back." She laughed waving away what the girl said.

The laughter had caught the attention of those nearby as they stopped and peaked at what it was before returning to their work thinking that nothing interesting was happening. "I won't be leaving by boat." She smiled as her eyes glowed a pale silver.

"Huh?" The priestess looked at her with a dumbfounded look as a portal opened leading to the woods. 'Wait…Those eyes!'

"I'll come back as soon as I can!" She said going through to the other side, closing the portal behind her. Finding the huge seal and the news of her health she knew she couldn't stay. The information she needed would lie elsewhere.


Yukino's POV

Feeling hungry I saw a tea shop ahead and headed towards it. Entering the shop my heart dropped as I saw people I recognized. The sand siblings were eating together with Baki next to them. The silent man saw me and stared at me for a moment before standing up and exiting the shop. Internally groaning I knew what this meant. 'How did he even recognize me? I dyed my hair a different color back then.' Sighing I went to the back of the shop and ordered my food before going outside to see what was up.

Going to the side of the shop I saw the grown man with his arms crossed deep in thought. "Baki-san?" I asked sensing the area around me for anyone else that may eavesdrop.

"Yukino-san," he trailed off wondering whether or not he should say it. "You will one of the few to hear this first but the Kazekage is dead."

Shaking my head I sighed. "I sent a warning about that man." I hissed keeping my voice low. "When I sent Shijima-sama I told you guys everything he did and you still decided to team up and for what?!" I asked remembering the details I was given.

"We know, we found out too late when the Kazekage was found to be dead for weeks."

Sighing I started running through the things I've done. 'I need to return to the sand and dispose of the reports I sent him…' "You wouldn't tell me this if there was something you needed," I whispered.

"Orochimaru took numerous files from the archives and you are the one who currently knows every single file by memory. You still remember them, don't you?" he asked.

Nodding in response I leaned against the shop. "I'll need to go to Suna and check what's missing. However, any information from when I left will remain missing." I pointed out. "Do you still want me to do it?" I asked still hoping he would say yes.

"I will talk to the council about this but what matters most is getting that information back." He walked past me and back to the shop but before he did he stopped. "I'll be back in Suna in a week. Be there by then."

Fixing a loose strand of hair I sensed him back with the group. Sensing another signiture I turned to the forest to see Kitaro running towards me. "Yuki-chan!" He called me over. Curious I walked over and he shoved a note in my hand before running back to the forest. Confused I opened the note carefully.

I'm so so so sorry! Haru and Hina told me to transform into you and kiss Gaara-kun, you know the one that tried to kill you years ago. But don't worry it was only on the cheek.

Million apologies, Kitaro

Ps. It happened during the first couple of days of the chūnin exams.

Pss. Hina and Haru lied they didn't know genjutsu.

Looking over the note I sighed knowing that I should have just ignored my stomach and continued walking. 'Well… I had to talk to him again one of these days.' I shook my head knowing that I now had to go back inside and apologize since they saw me.

Going back to the shop I entered and saw the group still there eating. Walking towards the group I saw Baki sending a silent message through his eyes telling me to stop and turn around but I didn't. Stopping in front of the auburn-haired boy I tapped the table in front of him. "Excuse me but can I talk to you?" I asked pointing to another table, thankfully saying that without my voice shaking. The boy looked slightly confused and did as asked moving across the room to hear what I had to say.

I started to stumble on my words while the boy just stared at me silently. His two siblings exchanged looks of confusion as they tried to decipher what I was saying. "Can you repeat that?" He asked.

Sigh. "You see… during the chūnin exams, I kissed you and… I want to apologize." I was able to say. I might have not been the one to do it but apologizing for it made me feel like I did. "I'm sorry."

"That was you?" He asked somewhat remembering as his hand went to his cheek.

"Your food is done," the lady waved me over.

"Oh, coming," I replied standing up quicker than what I wanted to, waving goodbye to the boy. Paying I grabbed my dango and tea seeing on the pots reflection how the boy had returned to his group. Holding my breath as I passed them I sat down on the table furthest from them. Sitting by my lonesome self I ate my food feeling the stares burning the back of my head. Hands trembling I went for my tea when I saw the reflection of both older siblings walking over. 'No…' I silently cried as they sat on either side cutting off my escape.

"So we heard what happened," Temari said with a smirk. "And we want to know the name of the guy that likes our little brother."

"Wait, what?" Kankuro said as if not getting what coming here was about. 'His face looks weird painted. Though that shade of purple fits him better than the one I made.' I thought the moment I saw his face.

It took a while to register what Temari said as my mind processed the words. 'Guy…' I gave an empty smile hiding the fact that they thought I was a boy even without my mask on. 'You know what? That can actually work in my favor one of these days.' I cheered myself up. "My name is Yukino," I said quietly.

"Yukio?" Kankuro said hearing only part of my name.

"Yukio?" Temari repeated interested. "Come sit with us then Yukio." She said standing up. Trying to say no but being cut off before I could even utter the words I found myself on their table beside Baki staring at my food in front of me.

"I didn't see this happening." I quickly whispered as I raised my cup for a sip.

"So, Yukio. How far do you plan on going with our little brother?" Temari asked making me choke on my tea. 'Why does this remind me of a plot for a BL manga?' I asked myself as my face went red remembering the things that transpired within those books.

"You misunderstand," I said clearing my throat. "It was by mistake," I stood up. "This is too much. I'm leaving." I grabbed my last dango before jumping out of my seat and running out of the shop.


With that embarrassing event, I headed into the nearby town's closest brothel. Entering one of the girls recognized me and told me that the one I would most likely looking for was out that day. 'Who will I tell my embarrassing moment to now?' I sighed surprised that the brothels on the nearby towns knew who I was. 'Do I really come by that often?' I asked myself knowing that seduction was something I have been trying to learn from them. It is a powerful skill allowing them to draw in men making them give up their money and secrets voluntarily, a skill that they developed over the years. Such a skill drew me in one day as I saw it happen. 'Maybe I really do come by that often…' I reflected on what brought me here.

"Hey Yuki-chan," the cook called me over. "Here send this bill to this man." He said handing me a picture of an old man with white hair. "He forgot to pay his last order of drinks when he left." Nodding I took both the picture and bill.

"Okay," Exiting the brothel I saw that there was a broken stand right across from the entrance. "Excuse me, have you seen this man?" I asked the stand owner who was picking up the broken pieces.

"Yes, he bought all of my ballons." He said.

"Did you see where he went?" I asked.

"He went that way." He pointed down the street.

"I see. Thank you." I sighed looking up at the setting sky. 'With all those water balloons he must be headed towards the outskirts or a park.'

・・・

Passing through the woods a familiar yelling sound caught my attention. 'Wait… is that Naruto?' I asked myself. Following the voices, I reached a clearing and saw Naruto and the guy I was looking for together. 'Why is Naruto with him?' I thought suspiciously hiding in the shadows. Interested in their conversation I stayed in my place when I heard the man saying that he was returning to town for his research. Standing up, I followed the man.

"Well, for you to wait so patiently for me to be alone you must really want something from me." He said turning around with a laugh.

"You're right." I took out the bill from my pocket. "The brothel you went to earlier sends this." I handed him the bill. He looked surprised for a moment as if expecting something else entirely. With a sigh, I shook my head, "I really spent my day chasing after an old man who left without paying." Looking up at the sky I turned around. "Bye." I left the man not wanting to know what his research was.